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Dead Man's Treasure
Leaving the Den Somewhere along the Magic Council's headquarters, a young man stood. He leaned against a wall, his crossed arms signaling to an unapproachable nature. Moving his head from side to side, Climb's visage could see a wooden door to his left. Behind the door, two of his superiors conversed, and he waited patiently for the meeting's ending. He expected a mission at the very least, which was exactly why the man was dressed in his white uniform, his sheathed katana hanging by his side. Turning his head to the right, he could see a long, empty corridor. Climb focused on its spotless floors, where he was able to see his own reflection, and for some reason, that put him at ease. "What item will it be this time, I wonder." ... Miwa stood at attention with her katana sheathed by her side and both arms crossed behind her back. She was always nervous when meeting with superiors and older Rune Knight captains, but she never expressed any hint at such. She remained silent and still with no intention of speaking until given reason to, patiently awaiting orders from the Knight King to carry on with. "Strange. The seconds feel slower in this room when the Knight King's here." She joked in her head to calm herself down. "Hello, Miwa." The Knight King spoke, breaking the silence of the room. "The item you are seeking is currently classified. It has a power of considerable importance. Should you have that information extracted from you, it would be disastrous." The Knight King breathed for a moment, before sliding some papers on his desk. "Follow the guide left here. You will reach your destination. Someone of your intelligence will understand the nature of this assignment soon enough." And with that, the Knight King passed by the younger Rune Knight, and left for his own affairs. "Thank the gods its over..." Miwa sighed as she headed to the desk and picked up the papers. Something written on the documents caused the captain to raise her eyebrow as her eyes scanned back and forth between the details. Holding the papers with both hands, she made her way to the door of the room where Climb was waiting. ... The door opened and Miwa burst through, at a pace that could hint as though she was running from something. Folding the papers and placing it inside her robe, Miwa gently patted the area to feel for the documents before nodding her head. She looked at Climb with one hand sitting on top of her katana's handle, with the other firmly on her hip. "We'll have to leave right now if we're going to get this done. Can you arrange some transport?" she ordered Climb. With a rather blank look on his face, Climb looked at his superior and he could feel the hastiness through her actions. "I've arranged for an airship already, Miwa-dono." he responded, his voice monotone. He moved away from the wall he was leaning on so that he was facing the young Commander. "With all due respect, would you mind sharing what we've been assigned this time?" he asked, perhaps Miwa would find him too...polite, but that was just his way of addressing others. "I'll tell you the details on the airship, we'll need to leave right away. Lead on." She explained, extending her arm outward for Climb as a signal for them to move on. "Alright," he exclaimed as he nodded in affirmation. He began to walk through the long hallway, Miwa close behind him. "I should warn you, Miwa-dono, that the airship can only take us as far as the named towns or villages. We will more than likely, have to travel on foot as well." he explained, as he moved around the Magic Council's maze-like walls without troubles. Soon enough, they reached a grey metal door, which Climb opened brusquely. Had Miwa's visage sight the same thing as Climb's did, she would notice multiple airships, most of them lined up. Some of them ran down the track, while others, were being repaired. While this hangar was utilized mainly by members of Valefor but occasionally, other divisions could utilize them as well. Making his way to a small aerial vehicle, whose appearance was similar to that of a seaship, Climb got on, expecting Miwa to do the same. "So, where to?" a voice asked, it was, of course, the assigned pilot of the ship. Miwa pulled out the documents and shook them, weakening the creases in the papers so that she could read them once more. "Take us just east of the Sun Village. Don't bother landing as well, we can drop down once we get there." She instructed before heading towards a seat. As the captain of the Artefact Detainment Divison, Miwa missed her operative days around Ishgar. Her job now kept her mainly at her desk but she would always take the opportunity to get out and take on assignments with her subordinates. It really was one of the only things that she enjoyed about the Rune Knights, but after the retirement of her predecessor, some one had to fulfil the empty spot at the captain's seat. She wanted to live up to the former captain's reputation but she's always felt like she had been too hard on her division. "Climb? How do you feel about being in Cerberus?" She asked with a worried tone in her voice. "Hm?" Climb raised one of his eyebrows unintentionally as the airship hovered above the ground and suddenly took off towards . "Well..." he started, trying to find the words to articulate his thoughts. "Cerberus is a substantial asset for the Magic Council and I am honored to be part of it. As to how I feel, I try not to let that get in the way of work, but if I obliged to answer, I'd say I feel comfortable in this division." He stopped momentarily, looking at the clear blue sky surrounding them and the nearby clouds. "My reputation, has, unfortunately, threatened my relationship with some of my peers, yet I don't feel that right now, Miwa-dono. I believe that is a good thing," he answered in complete honesty, his pitch always unchanging. The breeze rustled his white hair, as he locked glances with Miwa momentarily. The feedback from Climb was satisfactory for Miwa, who mentally sighed in relief. She would have hated to be the captain of a division that hated her, so to hear that from a subordinate was a positive clarity for Miwa's mind. Granted, she was known for handing out harsh punishments but to her it was always just. The clouds slowly flowed by the airship, hinting that they were reaching high altitudes. It was the way that Miwa liked to approach missions, out of sight and out of mind, just an easier way to get near targets. "Your reputation? What about it?" Miwa asked, alerted by Climb's remark. "I come from Iceberg, the foreign boy who grew at an explosive pace. For some reason, I believe others don't like that." he responded. "Huh. Don't you worry about it, I know how you feel." Miwa said in response, trying to comfort Climb, "Everyone in the Rune Knights are from somewhere in Ishgar, so there's no such thing as foreign here. Just don't let others hinder you with their opinion, if it helps I can go ask them how they feel about you and find you some clarity?" She offered. It was obvious that Miwa was struggling to help Climb, she wasn't the best social butterfly after all and found it hard to relate to some people. But with Climb, she could see some bit of herself in him, making it quite easy to talk to him in some way. She knew how it felt to be the foreigner to all the others, she came from a clan that has lived for how many centuries, learning from a lesser known magic institution and quickly rose up through the ranks before becoming captain. Even her predecessor could relate to Climb's struggle, so to hear of this was a refreshing thought in Miwa's mind. "That's not necessary, Miwa-dono." Climb said, crossing his arms. "I won't let situations like that hinder my progress anyways, though I do appreciate it." For what seemed no more than a second, a smile formed itself on the boy's thin lips. What followed was silence, neither of them appeared to be socially skilled. In Climb's case, he didn't find the silence awkward at all but rather, peaceful. "I'll be settling in my room then, if you'll allow me too." Climb broke the silence with a polite demand. “By all means, rest up. Just keep an ear out for my call, as soon as we fly near the Sun village we’ll have to drop.” She instructed, looking back to the papers that the Knight King gave her. ”What would Captain Rena do? Maybe I should have brought more knights?” Miwa thought to herself as she scanned the papers again, carefully taking in every bit of information she could before their arrival. To apprehend powerful magical items wasn’t the easiest thing to do, especially with the potential of others who want to exploit them. Who knows what could happen once they get there, would it be a smooth assignment or would there be something, or someone, in their way. Climb made his way into the cabin that the ship had, settling into his room. He placed his sword in its scabbard on a wooden desk, then proceeded to sit down on his bed. "I wonder what we're looking for, perhaps a weapon? Or a magic stone?" he thought to himself, before sighing and lowering his upper body onto the bed. It wouldn't do good to stay up wondering about it and with that, he drifted off to sleep. ... Climb stood up from the bed almost instantly at what he assumed was Mira's voice. With a poor attempt of straightening his clothes and combing his hair with his hand, Climb left the room, grabbing his weapon on his way out. "Have we arrived?" he asked as he left the cabin and entered the main deck. Soon, his question would be answered, as the sky's previously bright blue colors darkened. Walking to the side of the ship and looking down, Climb could see what he assumed was from above. "Why else would I call you?" Miwa answered, quickly opening one of the doors to the outside before reaching for a couple of bags that were hanging by the window. "Quickly put this on before we go." She ordered as she tossed one of them to Climb, securing the other one firmly onto her back. The air from the outside moved quickly and loud against the airship, as Miwa had to yell over the wind in order for Climb to hear her. Farewelling the driver, Miwa took a step back and ran towards the door, taking a large leap of faith as soon as she left the comfort of the airship. 'Flying' in the air was a sort of interesting experience for Miwa, as to not feel a solid surface underneath her body was both terrifying yet calming at the same tie. She enjoyed the drop for now, keeping her eye on the objective which was a noticeable cave not too far, luckily not too hidden by surrounding shrubs and trees. Assuming that Climb had followed her lead, Miwa looked up to find the young Rune Knight to see how he was coping with the descent. Following close behind, Climb put on the bag before waving goodbye to the pilot and jumping out of the airship. His facial expression showed no visible concern as the air seemed to travel in the opposite direction he fell. Truthfully, Climb wasn't scared by any means but he also wasn't completely comfortable with this new experience. A strange feeling assailed his stomach, which he decided to ignore as they fell down, nearing the cave by the second. As the knights neared the ground, Miwa nodded back to Climb who was following her, closing her eyes and pulling a distinct cord that was hanging out the bag's side. Upon tugging, Miwa could feel her body becoming light and easy to manoeuvre, effortlessly drifting towards the ground. Repositioning herself into a standing stance, Miwa gracefully landed on a small patch of grass close to a cluster of trees, good enough to hide in and lookout for any intruders. She expected Climb to follow by, planning ahead so that their mission would be quick and easy by the time the moon rose. After taking a few steps, Miwa unbuckled the bag from her body and allowed it to fall to the floor as she dusted her uniform off. "It's still morning-noon, we've got plenty of time to do the assignment before tonight." She thought out loud, mumbling what had went on within her head. As if he was a mime, Climb mirrored Miwa's exact actions and managed to land safely unto the ground. Hiding behind the many trees, Climb dropped the bag into the ground, carefully placing it so that it comfortably lied against the tree's trunk. Climb nodded at what Miwa said before a question popped into his mind. "Miwa-dono, what should we do if we encounter others?" "Then we get rid of them, if they're civilians then vacate them from the area. But if their treasure hunters or dark mages, then you should already know what to do." She replied before heading towards the cave covertly, keeping her body low with one hand ready to draw her blade. "Watch my back, and wait at the cave entrance. Make sure you aren't visible incase anyone comes by, and if they look dodgy you've got my blessing to attack." She instructed as they neared the cave. "Got it." Climb affirmed as he too quietly made his way towards the cave, his right hand on his sword's hilt. He would be ready to strike anyone in a moment's notice. When Miwa had gotten in, he turned around and hid behind a part of the cave's entrance. For any outsiders, it would be hard to see him as the shadows camouflaged him. "Be careful, Miwa-dono." he uttered quietly, almost as if he didn't want anyone else to hear those words. Miwa disappeared into the darkness, having taken out her sheath from her side as a sort of guiding cane that she swung in the space infront of her. Occasionally Miwa would tap on the walls of the cave, prompting her to move slightly in another direction in order to continue, however, due to the darkness it was hard to tell if she was making any progress whatsoever. The tapping of her sheath echoed throughout the cave, and most likely even at the entrance where Climb was waiting. Miwa was well aware of that, but it seemed to be the only way that she could navigate through the dark of the tunnels. The tapping didn't seem to last too long as Miwa had proceeded into a descending tunnel after losing her footing, mistaking the open space infront of her as an open path straight rather than a downward slide. Clumsily falling forward, Miwa landed on her back with her sheathe and sword sliding down alongside her, deeper into the dark of the cave. "CRAP." She yelled, her voice echoing throughout the tunnels. The dust was quickly catching onto her outfit, as supposedly a massive cloud followed right behind her. Using her hands and her feet, Miwa tried to control the speed she was travelling down the tunnel, using her palms and soles to slow her down. The small rocks and grains of dirt rubbed embedded into the ground scrapped against her skin as she did so, trying to keep her off balance so she would tumble to the bottom. Nonetheless, Miwa persevered and slid down to the bottom safely, having been able to maintain a posture that slowed her slide. Slowly bringing herself up and dusting herself off, Miwa could feel a sting buzzing throughout her palms each time she touched something with them. Quickly and furiously rubbing her palms together to sort of soothe the pain in them, Miwa let out a loud frustrated squeal due to her mistake. "Wow. Good job Miwa. You really done it now. Your first mistake in how many years? And you thought you didn't need to bring anything special. So smart, aren't ya? It felt a bit colder here at the bottom, but there was something more strange about what she had discovered after arriving. The ground didn't feel the same compared to the tunnels she was navigating through before above, as the floor seemed to feel a little less dense than compacted dirt, but more, brick like. Miwa tapped her sandal on the ground and it gave off a lighter echo around the space, bouncing around the tunnels walls that seemed to be a little bit more closer than before. Crouching down to feel the ground for her sword, Miwa could definitely feel the brick ground laid out underneath her. It was a nice change for her, as this told her that she was possibly getting near to the said magical artefact she was sent to locate. "Damn sword. I've lost it. I need to find light." She panicked in her mind as she continued feeling around. The sound of something tapping against the cave resounded through the structure, reaching Climb’s ear in the form of reverberation. It alarmed him slightly, but not enough for him to move from where he stood. “’’Miwa is fine, probably’’” he assured himself. Then suddenly, the tapping stopped. Soon, it was followed by what he assumed was Miwa cursing, which caused Climb’s eyes to widen. “Miwa-dono?! Are you alright?!” he screamed, his voice echoing throughout the cave. He took a few steps forward and continued to call out for her name, hoping she would respond. He tread carefully, attempting to keep his uniform entirely clean. Unbeknownst to many, Climb was kind of a "clean freak", but that wasn't important right now, Miwa's safety was. With the events inside the cave taking its course and the sound of their actions echoing throughout it, so too would the rumbling of a magical vehicle fall on deaf ears amongst the forest covering the area outside. The two-wheeled machine used for transportation made its stand several meters from the rider's designation, hidden by the landscape and the traveller clad in black-and-blue reached out with his hands to remove the goggles covering his eyes. Nero's eyes flickered a few times as the sight of the sun strained them after such a long journey, raising one his hands to provide some momentary cover until they'd settled in. "Spirits man... Was the sun always so bright?" The man spoke to himself out loud, followed by a sigh as he went on to dismount the motorcycle and reach out for one its backpacks. From it, Nero pulled a piece of paper that appeared to resemble that of a map that had shinning, bright-white markings across its cover. One of which was highlighted with an arrow that pointed him towards the direction of his goal, moving as he did. Not wanting to waste time after such a long journey, Nero rolled up the map and placed it inside his jacket as he reached back to the backpack to pull out a red apple- making use of it as a quick snack as he began wandering the forest. As he passed through the forest, the rustling sound of a brush a mere five meters away caught Nero's attention which caused him to lower his body forward to get a better look. Unbeknownst to him at the time until mere moments later, hidden inside was a cougar that had spotted that the mage was all alone and must've appeared to have been an easy target. As it started crawled out, its body and sound of the cougar's growls became evident to the traveller and its fangs made it clear of its intentions. Yet to the cougar's surprise, the human didn't run but merely straightened itself as the animal started circling him and passed along a tree that stood between them. But, as the cougar passed the wood, it stopped in its tracks upon laying eyes of them. The human didn't have a bland expression anymore, it was smiling; next to it stood two odd-looking humans with bone-like features among its otherwise normal appearance. Unlike the first human, however, their faces showcased no expressions at all as if hollow. Feeling the fight-or-flight instincts kicking in, the cougar chose the latter as it crept back into the forest. Still smiling, the beings that had accompanied him sunk into the ground within a moments notice and Nero was left alone yet again. Finally spotting what he was looking for, Nero's eyes lit up as he almost sprinted towards the entrance. Stopping right next to the entrance, the mage clenched his fists and raised them high up in the air before pulling them back down, back and forth a few times as a way to celebrate his findings. He was about to speak out loud to commemorate this moment, if not for the sound of someone cursing echoing from inside the grotto. His joy turned to utter disappointment, he had been told that the cave had been forgotten and that whatever was held inside would've been free for the taking. Whoever it was, they were messing up a perfectly good trip. Taking a deep breath as Nero straightening himself up, shaking his legs and arms vigorously and jumping on the spot a few times to remove the tingling feeling that had started building up inside him. He relieved his lungs of the air inside and cleared his throat, taking yet another small breath before putting a smile on that face of his and making his way around the corner. Raising his arms wide to the sides with open palms as he entered the cave and made himself as visible as possible, Nero raised his voice and called out while his legs had him walk at a quick pace: "HONEY I'M HOME!!" "Miwa-dono?! Miwa-dono?!" Climb screamed her name continuously, but there was no answer. Just when the cave had gone silent, a new voice made its way to Climb's ears. "That's definitely not Commander Miwa" he thought to himself, clutching the hilt of his sword tightly. Had the owner of the voice approached him, he would be able to respond accordingly. Turning back towards the entrance, Climb approached with slow, silent steps. He tread carefully, as he could hear the sound of quickened steps getting louder and louder. "I have to reach Miwa-dono somehow..." he thought, and almost immediately, he decided to act. Using a small fraction of his magical reserves, Climb focused it outward, solidifying it until it took the shape of a winged animal. It was a crystalline bat, and at Climb's command, it traveled deeper into the cave, in search of Miwa. Almost simultaneously, the figure from before appeared in front of him. Due to the dim lighting of the cave, it was hard to tell what or who it was. Despite only being able to notice a silhouette, Climb drew his sword from its sheath, the hissing sound it made a warning to the figure. "Stop right there, please, and identify yourself." he commanded, tone and expression unchanging. Category:Nearó Unlimited Category:BQD Category:GuyCivic Category:Role-Plays